Youth

Youth

by Samuel Ullman

Youth is not a time of life; it is a state of mind; it is not a matter of rosy cheeks, red lips and supple knees; it is a matter of the will, a quality of the imagination, a vigor of the emotions; it is the freshness of the deep springs of life.

Youth means a temperamental predominance of courage over timidity of the appetite, for adventure over the love of ease. This often exists in a man of sixty more than a boy of twenty. Nobody grows old merely by a number of years. We grow old by deserting our ideals.

Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul. Worry, fear, self-distrust bows the heart and turns the spirit back to dust.

Whether sixty or sixteen, there is in every human being's heart the lure of wonder, the unfailing child-like appetite of what's next, and the joy of the game of living. In the center of your heart and my heart there is a wireless station; so long as it receives messages of beauty, hope, cheer, courage and power from men and from the infinite, so long are you young.

When the aerials are down, and your spirit is covered with snows of cynicism and the ice of pessimism, then you are grown old, even at twenty , but as long as your aerials are up, to catch the waves of optimism, there is hope you may die young at eighty.

                                   青春

                                         塞缪尔·乌尔曼   

　　青春不是年华，而是一种心态；不是玫瑰般的脸庞，红润的嘴唇和敏捷的双腿，而是坚韧的意志，丰富的想象力，以及无穷的激情；青春是生命深处的一股清泉。

　　青春意味着勇气多于怯懦，青春意味着喜欢冒险而讨厌安逸。拥有此种品质的人之中，六十岁的老人往往多于二十岁的年轻人。没有人只因年龄的增长而年老，人们往往因放弃理想而年老。

　　岁月可使肌肤长满皱纹，但放弃激情可使心灵布满灰尘。焦虑，疑惑，猜疑，恐惧和沮丧＿＿都会挫伤心灵，磨损意志。

　　不管是白发老人还是青春少年，每个人的心里皆有其喜欢之新奇事物，对星星和类似星星的东西皆有好奇之心，敢于挑战，对未知事物的孩子般的渴求之心，乐于享受生活带来的乐趣。

　　我们因充满信心而变得年轻；因心存疑虑而变得年老；因自信而年轻，因心存恐惧而年老，因充满希望而年轻，因满怀沮丧而年老。

　　人人心里都有一座无线电台，只要接受到来自地球，人类和宇宙的美好，希望，勇气，庄严及力量，就会变得年轻。

　　当心灵的天线倒下，心如大雪般的悲观，如冰块般的愤世嫉俗，那时，惟有那时我们将真正老去。

　　青春不是年华，而是一种心态；不是玫瑰般的脸庞，红润的嘴唇和敏捷的双腿，而是坚韧的意志，丰富的想象力，以及无穷的激情；青春是生命深处的一股清泉。

　　青春意味着勇气多于怯懦，青春意味着喜欢冒险而讨厌安逸。拥有此种品质的人之中，六十岁的老人往往多于二十岁的年轻人。没有人只因年龄的增长而年老，人们往往因放弃理想而年老。

　　岁月可使肌肤长满皱纹，但放弃激情可使心灵布满灰尘。焦虑，疑惑，猜疑，恐惧和沮丧＿＿都会挫伤心灵，磨损意志。

　　不管是白发老人还是青春少年，每个人的心里皆有其喜欢之新奇事物，对星星和类似星星的东西皆有好奇之心，敢于挑战，对未知事物的孩子般的渴求之心，乐于享受生活带来的乐趣。

　　我们因充满信心而变得年轻；因心存疑虑而变得年老；因自信而年轻，因心存恐惧而年老，因充满希望而年轻，因满怀沮丧而年老。

　　人人心里都有一座无线电台，只要接受到来自地球，人类和宇宙的美好，希望，勇气，庄严及力量，就会变得年轻。

　　当心灵的天线倒下，心如大雪般的悲观，如冰块般的愤世嫉俗，那时，惟有那时我们将真正老去。